Psalm 80 13

Psalm 80:13 kjv

The boar out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the field doth devour it.

Psalm 80:13 nkjv

The boar out of the woods uproots it, And the wild beast of the field devours it.

Psalm 80:13 niv

Boars from the forest ravage it, and insects from the fields feed on it.

Psalm 80:13 esv

The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.

Psalm 80:13 nlt

The wild boar from the forest devours it,
and the wild animals feed on it.

Psalm 80 verses

Psalm 80 13 Meaning

Psalm 80:13 powerfully laments the dire state of Israel, symbolically depicted as God's vine. This verse portrays the vine—God's chosen people, once carefully brought out of Egypt and planted in the Promised Land—being utterly ravaged. The "boar from the forest" and "all the wild beasts of the field" represent external, brutal, and unrestrained destructive forces that have broken through the vine's defenses and are mercilessly consuming it. It signifies a period of profound desolation, suggesting that God's protective hand has seemingly been withdrawn, leaving His people exposed to relentless oppression and ruin.

Psalm 80 13 Context

Psalm 80 is a fervent communal lament, a prayer to God, "the Shepherd of Israel" (v. 1), for national restoration. The psalm opens with an earnest plea for divine deliverance (v. 1-7), recalling God's past mercies in bringing Israel out of Egypt. Verses 8-11 famously employ the metaphor of Israel as a vine (גֶּפֶן, gephen) that God Himself transplanted and cultivated. Following this depiction of former glory, verses 12-13 starkly contrast this by detailing the vine's current devastated state. The protective wall (גְּדֵרָה, gederah) around the vine, built by God, has been broken down (v. 12), leading directly to the calamity described in verse 13. This imagery underscores the severe national crisis Israel is enduring, likely due to foreign invasion or prolonged oppression. The mention of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh (v. 2) might suggest the specific suffering of the Northern Kingdom following the Assyrian conquests, or a broader appeal for the reunion and restoration of all Israel. The psalmist attributes the nation's vulnerability to God's seeming withdrawal of protection, prompting desperate pleas for Him to "turn again" (v. 14) and "restore us" (v. 3, 7, 19).

Psalm 80 13 Word analysis

• יְכַרְסְמֶנָּה (yekars'mənáh): "devours it"
  • This verb derives from the root כָּרְסַם (karsam), meaning "to gnaw," "to consume by chewing," or "to destroy by eating thoroughly."
  • Significance: It implies a violent, relentless, and destructive consumption, not merely light grazing. The object "it" (the vine) is being annihilated piece by piece. This suggests total eradication or debilitating damage.
• חֲזִיר (chazîr): "boar"
  • Meaning: A wild pig, specifically a male wild boar.
  • Significance: Wild boars are notoriously destructive to crops, especially vineyards, as they root around aggressively and consume whatever they find. The boar is also an unclean animal in Israelite law (Lev 11:7), making its presence in God's vineyard symbolic of both defilement and violent pagan invasion. It represents a powerful, brute, and untamed foreign oppressor.
• מִיָּעַר (mîyaʿar): "from the forest"
  • Root: יָּעַר (ya'ar) - "forest," "woodland," or "thicket."
  • Significance: The forest is a wild, untamed, and unregulated place, a natural habitat for destructive animals. Coming "from the forest" emphasizes the boar's savage, uncultivated, and external nature, emerging from a realm beyond human control to cause devastation in the cultivated, protected vineyard.
• וְזִיז (vəzîz): "and all the wild beasts" (or "moving creatures," "vermin")
  • Root: זִיז (zîz) - Often translated as "wild beasts," but can also refer to smaller "moving creatures" or "vermin" that infest and damage. Given the parallel with the boar, "wild beasts" is generally preferred to denote a broad category of destructive animals.
  • Significance: Expands the scope of destruction beyond just the boar, indicating multiple sources of devastation. It suggests a complete absence of defense, allowing diverse harmful elements to inflict damage.
• שָׂדַי (śâday): "of the field"
  • Meaning: "Field," "open country," "agricultural land."
  • Significance: "Wild beasts of the field" suggests threats coming from the surrounding agricultural or open land, potentially encompassing more diverse enemies, both external and perhaps internal (e.g., wild elements that live close to the cultivated area). It broadens the perceived origin of the threats.
• יִרְעֶנָּה (yirʿen'náh): "feed on it"
  • Root: רָעָה (raʿâh) - "to graze," "to pasture," "to feed," and also "to tend" or "to shepherd."
  • Significance: While often used in the positive sense of pasturing, here it is used destructively. The animals are "feeding on" the vine, meaning they are consuming it as if it were their legitimate pasture. This signifies continuous, unchallenged destruction and depletion of the vine's vitality, leading to its complete consumption. The suffix '-náh' points to 'it' (the vine).

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "The boar from the forest devours it": This phrase paints a specific picture of a powerful, untamed, and aggressively destructive entity. The boar symbolizes a major, perhaps singular, imperial foreign enemy (like Assyria or Babylon) emerging from outside the 'civilized' sphere to wreak havoc with brutal force, consuming the very essence of God's people.
• "and all the wild beasts of the field feed on it": This expands the scope of devastation. It's not just one major enemy, but a multitude of various destructive forces. This could imply a more general state of vulnerability, where smaller or less powerful enemies, or even internal issues, contribute to the widespread ruin. The collective imagery of different destructive animals implies comprehensive and overwhelming destruction from multiple angles. Both phrases together underscore the complete collapse of divine protection, allowing Israel's enemies free rein to destroy.

Psalm 80 13 Bonus section

• Figurative Language: The entire verse relies on strong animal metaphors to convey the terror and completeness of the destruction. The zoomorphism effectively dehumanizes the enemy forces, presenting them as savage, mindless agents of ruin, adding to the pathos of the psalm.
• Divine Passive Voice: While the psalm does not explicitly state that God sends these animals, the preceding verse (Ps 80:12) poses the question, "Why have You broken down its walls?" This implies that the permission for the boar and wild beasts to enter is either directly from God's hand in judgment or a consequence of His withdrawal of protection, suggesting a divine passive or indirect role in Israel's suffering.
• Ecological Insight: Ancient Near Eastern societies understood the devastation wild animals could wreak on agriculture. The specific imagery here would have resonated deeply with an agrarian people dependent on vineyards for livelihood, making the depiction of ruin exceptionally vivid and relatable.

Psalm 80 13 Commentary

Psalm 80:13 serves as a profound lament describing Israel's desolate state as a direct consequence of perceived divine abandonment. The vibrant metaphor of Israel as God's carefully cultivated vine is here reversed, depicting it under relentless assault. The "boar from the forest" represents a potent, untamed foreign aggressor, likely a specific invading empire known for its ruthless brutality, such as Assyria or Babylon. This animal, considered unclean and destructive, highlights the defiling and violent nature of the attack. Its act of "devouring" implies a thorough and annihilating consumption. Coupled with "all the wild beasts of the field" that "feed on it," the verse illustrates not merely isolated attacks but a widespread and sustained devastation by various external or internal enemies. This collective imagery suggests that God's protective "wall" (v. 12) around His chosen people has been completely dismantled, allowing unfettered access to anything that would destroy them. The verse encapsulates a deep anguish and bewilderment that God, the loving Gardener, would permit such catastrophic ruin upon His own vineyard, thereby setting the stage for the psalm's repeated, desperate plea for Him to "restore us" and cause His face to shine again.